NMC Foundation celebrates success of Be What’s Possible campaign

Jun 10, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Last night, the NMC Foundation announced that Be What’s Possible, the Campaign for NMC, has raised $38.9 million to date from more than 5,000 donors to support scholarships, programs, facilities and the greatest needs of the students and the college.

The Be What’s Possible campaign was launched publicly on October 9, 2019 with a goal of raising $35 million. This is Northwestern Michigan College’s first comprehensive campaign with gifts to all areas of the college and its programs as well as planned and cash gifts counting towards its success.

“Our team has been honored to work with so many generous donors who are dedicated to supporting education and the arts through the NMC Foundation,” said Rebecca Teahen, NMC Foundation executive director. “Alumni and community members have stepped up in extraordinary ways to make so much possible. I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all who have been part of this campaign.”

People from across the country attended the virtual closing celebration on June 9. There’s still time to join this historic effort by making a gift to the NMC Foundation by June 30, 2021. Find out more at nmc.edu/give.

Release date: JUNE 10, 2021

For more information:

Rebecca Teahen
Associate Vice President for Resource Development & Executive Director, NMC Foundation
rteahen@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1855

NMC Foundation celebrates success of Be What’s Possible campaign

Jun 10, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Last night, the NMC Foundation announced that Be What’s Possible, the Campaign for NMC, has raised $38.9 million to date from more than 5,000 donors to support scholarships, programs, facilities and the greatest needs of the students and the college.

The Be What’s Possible campaign was launched publicly on October 9, 2019 with a goal of raising $35 million. This is Northwestern Michigan College’s first comprehensive campaign with gifts to all areas of the college and its programs as well as planned and cash gifts counting towards its success.

“Our team has been honored to work with so many generous donors who are dedicated to supporting education and the arts through the NMC Foundation,” said Rebecca Teahen, NMC Foundation executive director. “Alumni and community members have stepped up in extraordinary ways to make so much possible. I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to all who have been part of this campaign.”

People from across the country attended the virtual closing celebration on June 9. There’s still time to join this historic effort by making a gift to the NMC Foundation by June 30, 2021. Find out more at nmc.edu/give.

Release date: JUNE 10, 2021

For more information:

Rebecca Teahen
Associate Vice President for Resource Development & Executive Director, NMC Foundation
rteahen@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1855

Contingency plans created for GLMA cadet sea time due to repairs required on State of Michigan

Jun 7, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Thanks to a rapid, multi-agency response effort, Great Lakes Maritime Academy cadets are still expected to earn required sea time and remain on track to graduate despite an engine repair that has temporarily sidelined the training ship State of Michigan on what would have been its longest cruise season in several years.

The T/S State of Michigan departed Traverse City on May 18 for the first of four scheduled training cruises. On the evening of May 19, the vessel experienced mechanical problems while transiting the Detroit River. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), owner of the vessel, has prioritized repairs to be completed at a Toledo, Ohio dock, and expects the ship to return to service by mid-July.

According to GLMA Superintendent Jerry Achenbach, due to the assistance of MARAD and the other state maritime academies, contingency plans were quickly developed for the cadets impacted. Cadets must earn the equivalent of 360 days sea time during the four-year program. The goal of NMC and GLMA is to ensure graduations are not delayed, and that every cadet has the ability to graduate per his/ her model schedule.

Plans for the 50 cadets aboard the vessel when it departed, as well as those scheduled for the second cruise, which was scheduled to begin on June 14, include earning required sea time through one of several options, including:

• Aboard the T/S Kennedy, the training ship of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy
• Aboard the T/S General Rudder, the training ship of Texas A&M Maritime Academy
• Aboard a commercial vessel in Great Lakes service.
• Aboard the State of Michigan in its third phase, scheduled to begin July 21 in Traverse City

Cadet transportation to and from another academy’s training ship will not be passed on to the cadets. This is thanks to the efforts of the NMC Foundation (nmc.edu/give) and MARAD.

More than 150 GLMA cadets will need to earn sea time this year. There is high demand for GLMA graduates, as well as the graduates of NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute, who complete an internship on the ship.

The T/S State of Michigan is owned by MARAD, which will pay for repairs, and assigned to the Academy. Prior to its transfer to GLMA in 2002, it was the USNS Persistent, a T-AGOS class ocean surveillance ship operated by the U.S. Navy. It was built in 1986.

Release date: JUNE 7, 2021

For more information:

RADM Jerry Achenbach
Great Lakes Maritime Academy Superintendent
(231) 995-1203
gachenbach@nmc.edu

Contingency plans created for GLMA cadet sea time due to repairs required on State of Michigan

Jun 7, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — Thanks to a rapid, multi-agency response effort, Great Lakes Maritime Academy cadets are still expected to earn required sea time and remain on track to graduate despite an engine repair that has temporarily sidelined the training ship State of Michigan on what would have been its longest cruise season in several years.

The T/S State of Michigan departed Traverse City on May 18 for the first of four scheduled training cruises. On the evening of May 19, the vessel experienced mechanical problems while transiting the Detroit River. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), owner of the vessel, has prioritized repairs to be completed at a Toledo, Ohio dock, and expects the ship to return to service by mid-July.

According to GLMA Superintendent Jerry Achenbach, due to the assistance of MARAD and the other state maritime academies, contingency plans were quickly developed for the cadets impacted. Cadets must earn the equivalent of 360 days sea time during the four-year program. The goal of NMC and GLMA is to ensure graduations are not delayed, and that every cadet has the ability to graduate per his/ her model schedule.

Plans for the 50 cadets aboard the vessel when it departed, as well as those scheduled for the second cruise, which was scheduled to begin on June 14, include earning required sea time through one of several options, including:

• Aboard the T/S Kennedy, the training ship of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy
• Aboard the T/S General Rudder, the training ship of Texas A&M Maritime Academy
• Aboard a commercial vessel in Great Lakes service.
• Aboard the State of Michigan in its third phase, scheduled to begin July 21 in Traverse City

Cadet transportation to and from another academy’s training ship will not be passed on to the cadets. This is thanks to the efforts of the NMC Foundation (nmc.edu/give) and MARAD.

More than 150 GLMA cadets will need to earn sea time this year. There is high demand for GLMA graduates, as well as the graduates of NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute, who complete an internship on the ship.

The T/S State of Michigan is owned by MARAD, which will pay for repairs, and assigned to the Academy. Prior to its transfer to GLMA in 2002, it was the USNS Persistent, a T-AGOS class ocean surveillance ship operated by the U.S. Navy. It was built in 1986.

Release date: JUNE 7, 2021

For more information:

RADM Jerry Achenbach
Great Lakes Maritime Academy Superintendent
(231) 995-1203
gachenbach@nmc.edu

NMC-Colombia “Bridging Waterways across the Americas” project wins $27K grant

Jun 4, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY —  Northwestern Michigan College is the only community college in the nation to win a grant designed to enhance higher education partnerships between the United States and Colombia.

NMC’s project, “Bridging Waterways Across the Americas,” a collaboration between the college, the Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay, the Universidad de la Salle and the Teusacá River Basin project in Colombia, was among 10 grant recipients announced June 3. 

Bridging Waterways will engage NMC Freshwater Studies students and faculty and their counterparts in the biology and environmental engineering undergraduate programs at La Salle in comparative environmental studies during the 2021-2022 academic year. Specifically, students will focus on freshwater resources in the Cuenca del Rio Teusacá (Bogotá, Colombia) and the Great Lakes region, seeking to identify local solutions to the global problem of adequate water resources.

“Bridging Waterways Across the Americas is a dream come true. We always envisioned the creation of an international network of students in water-related programs, local communities and professionals along the Americas working together to understand our water resources,” said Constanza Hazelwood, education and outreach coordinator at NMC’s Freshwater Studies Institute, and grant co-author.

Co-author Jim Bensley, director of the office of International Services and Service Learning, called the project another example of NMC’s innovative approach to building international partnerships to enhance student learning in the 21st century and to prepare learners for success in a global society and economy. NMC currently has existing partnerships with institutions/organizations in Indonesia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, Canada and the UK. 

Virtual activities begin immediately. The approximately $27,000 award will culminate in field work next spring. Six NMC students and one faculty member will travel to Colombia in May 2022, and six La Salle students and one faculty member will visit Traverse City in June.

The U.S.-Colombia grant competition is supported by the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, a public-private collaboration that originated in the Obama Administration between the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies, Partners of the Americas, NAFSA, corporations, and foundations. All the other recipients were four-year universities.

COVID-19 forced the cancellation of physical study abroad experiences in both 2020 and 2021. Yet also this month, NMC learned it is one of only eight community colleges nationwide to double study abroad participation between 2016-2020 through the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative.

The accomplishment has garnered NMC the organization’s Seal of Excellence. Out of 444 participating US institutions, 121 met their goals, including NMC.

Since 2013, when NMC established the Office for International Services and Service Learning,  the college has averaged 65-70 students annually, and has sent over 450 students and 30 faculty/staff on short-term academic study abroad opportunities to 20 different countries. The NMC Foundation’s Global Opportunities Fund, started by former NMC President Tim Nelson and Nancy Johnson, has helped reduce the cost for many students who may never have traveled outside the state of Michigan.

Costa Rica is one of the longest-established destinations in NMC’s study abroad portfolio. Students first traveled there in 2011 and worked with faculty at EARTH University in Limon. Eventually, EARTH is expected to participate in student exchange and research through the Bridging Waterways project, too. 

“Students and faculty experiencing their area of study in a country much different from the US has been a phenomenal experience,” Bensley said. “Not only do they return home as more confident global citizens, but they begin to ask questions and analyze problems with an ever expanding worldview.”  

In-person study abroad opportunities are tentatively planned to return in 2022, while virtual experiences continue to expand. This spring and summer, five NMC students have completed or are in the process of fulfilling virtual internships in India and Brazil. In addition, two visual communications students were recently chosen from a nationwide community college competition by the French embassy to participate in a three-week virtual boot camp exploring sustainable design in partnership with the Higher College of Decorative Arts in Paris, France.

Release date: JUNE 4, 2021

For more information:

Jim Bensley
Director, International Services and Service Learning
jbensley@nmc.edu
(231) 995-2527

NMC-Colombia “Bridging Waterways across the Americas” project wins $27K grant

Jun 4, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY —  Northwestern Michigan College is the only community college in the nation to win a grant designed to enhance higher education partnerships between the United States and Colombia.

NMC’s project, “Bridging Waterways Across the Americas,” a collaboration between the college, the Inland Seas Education Association in Suttons Bay, the Universidad de la Salle and the Teusacá River Basin project in Colombia, was among 10 grant recipients announced June 3. 

Bridging Waterways will engage NMC Freshwater Studies students and faculty and their counterparts in the biology and environmental engineering undergraduate programs at La Salle in comparative environmental studies during the 2021-2022 academic year. Specifically, students will focus on freshwater resources in the Cuenca del Rio Teusacá (Bogotá, Colombia) and the Great Lakes region, seeking to identify local solutions to the global problem of adequate water resources.

“Bridging Waterways Across the Americas is a dream come true. We always envisioned the creation of an international network of students in water-related programs, local communities and professionals along the Americas working together to understand our water resources,” said Constanza Hazelwood, education and outreach coordinator at NMC’s Freshwater Studies Institute, and grant co-author.

Co-author Jim Bensley, director of the office of International Services and Service Learning, called the project another example of NMC’s innovative approach to building international partnerships to enhance student learning in the 21st century and to prepare learners for success in a global society and economy. NMC currently has existing partnerships with institutions/organizations in Indonesia, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, Canada and the UK. 

Virtual activities begin immediately. The approximately $27,000 award will culminate in field work next spring. Six NMC students and one faculty member will travel to Colombia in May 2022, and six La Salle students and one faculty member will visit Traverse City in June.

The U.S.-Colombia grant competition is supported by the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund, a public-private collaboration that originated in the Obama Administration between the U.S. Department of State, U.S. embassies, Partners of the Americas, NAFSA, corporations, and foundations. All the other recipients were four-year universities.

COVID-19 forced the cancellation of physical study abroad experiences in both 2020 and 2021. Yet also this month, NMC learned it is one of only eight community colleges nationwide to double study abroad participation between 2016-2020 through the Institute of International Education’s Generation Study Abroad initiative.

The accomplishment has garnered NMC the organization’s Seal of Excellence. Out of 444 participating US institutions, 121 met their goals, including NMC.

Since 2013, when NMC established the Office for International Services and Service Learning,  the college has averaged 65-70 students annually, and has sent over 450 students and 30 faculty/staff on short-term academic study abroad opportunities to 20 different countries. The NMC Foundation’s Global Opportunities Fund, started by former NMC President Tim Nelson and Nancy Johnson, has helped reduce the cost for many students who may never have traveled outside the state of Michigan.

Costa Rica is one of the longest-established destinations in NMC’s study abroad portfolio. Students first traveled there in 2011 and worked with faculty at EARTH University in Limon. Eventually, EARTH is expected to participate in student exchange and research through the Bridging Waterways project, too. 

“Students and faculty experiencing their area of study in a country much different from the US has been a phenomenal experience,” Bensley said. “Not only do they return home as more confident global citizens, but they begin to ask questions and analyze problems with an ever expanding worldview.”  

In-person study abroad opportunities are tentatively planned to return in 2022, while virtual experiences continue to expand. This spring and summer, five NMC students have completed or are in the process of fulfilling virtual internships in India and Brazil. In addition, two visual communications students were recently chosen from a nationwide community college competition by the French embassy to participate in a three-week virtual boot camp exploring sustainable design in partnership with the Higher College of Decorative Arts in Paris, France.

Release date: JUNE 4, 2021

For more information:

Jim Bensley
Director, International Services and Service Learning
jbensley@nmc.edu
(231) 995-2527

Celebrating PRIDE MONTH at the NMC Library

Jun 3, 2021 | Intercom, Student News

FICTION

Less, by Andrew Sean Greer
Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction, 2018
After receiving an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding, Arthur, a failed novelist on the eve of his fiftieth birthday, embarks on an international journey that finds him falling in love, risking his life, reinventing himself, and making connections with the past.

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Reese almost had it all: a loving relationship with Amy, an apartment in NYC, a job she didn’t hate. She had scraped together a good life. The only thing missing was a child. But then her girlfriend, Amy, detransitioned and became Ames, and everything fell apart. That is until Ames’s boss and lover, Katrina reveals she is pregnant with his baby – and not sure she wants to keep it. Ames wonders if this is their chance to be happy? Could the three of them form some kind of unconventional family – and raise the baby together?

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Amma is a playwright whose work often explores her black lesbian identity; Shirley, a teacher, is jaded after decades of work in funding-deprived schools; Carole, one of Shirley’s former students, works hard to earn a degree and becomes an investment banker; Carole’s mother Bummi works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter’s lack of rootedness. From a nonbinary social media influencer to a 93-year-old woman living on a farm, twelve unforgettable characters intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class. 

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender
This award winning young adult novel introduces twelve-year-old Caroline. Born on Water Island in the Virgin Islands during a hurricane, which is considered bad luck, Caroline falls in love with another girl–and together they set out in a hurricane to find Caroline’s missing mother.

George by Alx Gino
When people look at George, they think they see a boy. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl. George thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. George really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part . . . because she’s a boy. With the help of her best friend, Kelly, George comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte — but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

NONFICTION

Trans Bodies, Trans Selves is a revolutionary resource-a comprehensive, reader-friendly guide for transgender people, with each chapter written by transgender or genderqueer authors. Each chapter takes the reader through an important transgender issue, such as race, religion, employment, medical and surgical transition, mental health topics, relationships, sexuality, parenthood, arts and culture, and many more.

Is Gender Fluid? A Primer for the 21st Century by Sally Hines
When we are born, we are each assigned a gender based on our physical anatomy. But why is it that some people experience such dissonance between their biological sex and their inner identity? Is gender something we are or something we do? Is our expression of gender inborn or does it develop as we grow? Hines assesses the connections between gender, psychology, culture and sexuality, and reveals how individual and social attitudes have evolved over the centuries

The 57 Bus by Daska Slater
One teenager in a skirt. One teenager with a lighter. One moment that changes both of their lives forever. If it weren’t for the 57 bus, Sasha and Richard never would have met. Both were high school students from Oakland, California, but they inhabited very different worlds. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment.

David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music by Darryl W. Bullock
This history of recorded music by and for the LGBT community shows how those records influenced the evolution of the music we listen to today, how gay, lesbian, and bisexual performers influenced jazz and blues; examines the almost forgotten Pansy Craze in the years between the two World Wars; chronicles the dark years after the depression when gay life was driven deep underground; celebrates the re-emergence of LGBT performers in the post-Stonewall years; and highlights today’s most legendary out-gay pop stars.

The Glass Closet: the Risks and Rewards of Coming Out in Business by John Browne
Part memoir and part social criticism, The Glass Closet addresses the issue of homophobia that still pervades corporations around the world and underscores the immense challenges faced by LGBT employees. Drawing on his own experiences, those of members of the LGBT community around the world, as well as insights from well-known business leaders and celebrities, Browne illustrates why, despite the risks, self-disclosure is best for employees—and for the businesses that support them.

FILMS IN KANOPY

Explore movies in Kanopy for free. Go to nmc.kanopy.com and login using your NMC ID and password.

BEYOND THE LIBRARY: PODCASTS

Gayish is a podcast that breaks down one gay stereotype each week. Mike and Kyle bring humor, honesty, and irreverence to topics like the hanky code, depression, and open relationships.

Past guests have included YouTuber Davey Wavey, gay porn star Calvin Banks, Andrew Gurza, Matt Baume, a gay priest, a trans atheist, and Mike’s wildly supportive and over-sharing mom.

Youth In Control is a weekly radio show where young LGBTQIA+ people can come in and take control of the radio! Whether it’s entertainment, music, social issues or news, all young LGBTQIA+ identifying people are invited to come in, choose the music and have their say about everything, from bisexual representation in the media to coming out to your grandparents, and have some fun while doing it.

Happy Queer Mind is a LGBT self-help podcast hosted by actor and poet, Jess Darnell.

Each week Darnell and guests break down common Queer issues with weekly positive affirmations, exercises, and original poetry to help change negative thought patterns, help break destructive cycles, and open up a space to support, affirm, and empower your spirit.